But Anglin's looks are more than a little deceiving. On Saturday afternoon, the great-grandmother of three strapped on skydiving gear and dove 13,000 feet from a plane over San Joaquin County.

"She's the first one to try something different. She has always been adventurous," said Ron Allen, Anglin's former pastor.

Anglin herself plays down her adventuresome spirit.

"I don't know if I did anything daring before, besides going on rides in Marine World," she said.

More than 20 of Anglin's friends and family members came Saturday morning from as far away as San Francisco and Fresno to the Parachute Center in Acampo to watch Anglin make her leap. Anglin's 20-year-old granddaughter, Tracie Madden of Walnut Creek, and family friend Barbara Gerlach, 19, of San Francisco dove with her.

Anglin had wanted to skydive for her 80th birthday and had tried to jump twice before, but circumstances interrupted her plans. She was determined to dive before June 3, her 81st birthday.

Everyone who came Saturday knew Anglin too well to be surprised by what she had chosen to do. But that didn't mean any of them were keen to follow her lead.

"It would be crazy for me to do it," said Margret Jonasson, Anglin's goddaughter. "I'm scared of heights."

Their confidence in Anglin didn't keep them from indulging in a bit of gallows humor.

"The only thing I asked Rose was, 'Am I a beneficiary?' " joked Ray Gerlach, a long-time friend of Anglin's.

Skydiving photographer Glenn Rogers and the business's owner, Bill Dause, said plenty of elderly folks skydive nowadays. Rogers said he once dove with a man who was 94, and the man came back for another jump when he was 95. But the man was a no-show at 96.

"I'm thinking that the clock ticked out," Rogers said.

Anglin appeared to be the only senior jumper Saturday. She couldn't help but stand out among the largely under-40 crowd, many of whom were longish-haired young men sporting reflective sunglasses and devil-may-care attitudes.

Anglin and her entourage soon learned that, like the theme-park rides Anglin loves, skydiving includes its share of standing-around time. For some would-be jumpers, the down time seemed to be drawing already taut nerves even tighter.

But Anglin showed no signs of nervousness. She chatted happily with her family as other jumpers ahead of her took their places on the airplane. She eagerly stepped into her gear. And she trundled off happily when her ride to the plane appeared.

To Anglin's friends and family on the ground, her plane after takeoff was at first not much more than a shiny speck in the sky. Eventually, they saw bits of purple, blue, fuchsia and red fabric dotting the blue sky, growing larger as the parachutes gradually neared the ground.

Anglin rode the currents on her red parachute with her tandem instructor, slowly coming to the ground. She hit gently with what looked like a mischievous smile on her face. A few seconds later, she flashed two thumbs up and a grin.

What was she thinking while floating lazily through the air?

"I was thinking I love the scenery and love to be up high," Anglin said.

PHOTOS: GREAT VIEW: Rose Anglin and Duke Machado float above the Parachute Center on Saturday north of Lodi. EYES ON THE SKY: Margret Jonasson, left, and Lorraine Jonasson watch friend Rose Anglin float to Earth.TOUCHDOWN: Duke Machado steers Rose Anglin in for a landing Saturday at the Parachute Center. A SOARING SUCCESS: Stockton resident Rose Anglin, 80, celebrates after completing her first parachute jump Saturday with jumpmaster Duke Machado at the Parachute Center in Acampo. Anglin said she wanted to parachute before her 81st birthday, which is June 3. "I was thinking I love the scenery and love to be up high," Anglin said. (Record photos by CRAIG SANDERS